Enquiry about object: 8486
Javanese Bronze Image of Seated Bodhisattva Padmapani
Central Java, Indonesia 9th-10th century
height: 16.7cm, width: 10.4cm, depth: 8.9cm, weight: 1,996g
Provenance
formerly in the collections of Professor Samuel Eilenberg (1980s), Jerry Mitchell & John Bartlett, UK.
This image of the Bodhisattva Padmapani shows the deity, with a pleasing face, seated on a raised dais on a throne and with a flaming aureole of backing plate. The left hand of the deity holds a padma or red lotus stem, and the lotus flower is above the left shoulder. Arms bands, a prominent jewelled necklace, earrings and a high, tiered crown are among the jewellery adornments.
The image is unusual in that two flaps spill from the front of the throne – possibly intended to signify animal pelts or woven textile. A tiger-type creature stands beneath the throne. Its face peers from beneath the textile flaps and its tail curls out the rear of the throne.
The image dates to the 9th-10th century, at a time when both Buddhism and Hinduism co-existed in Central Java.
The image has a thick, encrusted, green patina. There are no losses or repairs. The image is of a good size and excellent provenance. The base retains a label from the previous collector detailing the past provenance, which we have confirmed from Jerry Mitchell, one of the previous owners mentioned.
Read our short essay about Srivijaya bronzes.
References
van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, J.E., Indo-Javanese Metalwork, Linden-Museum Stuttgart, 1984.
Lunsingh Scheurleer, P., & M.J. Klokke, Ancient Indonesian Bronzes: A Catalogue of the Exhibition in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam with a General Introduction, E.J. Brill, 1988.
